


our own house

by freshmint



Series: globetrotting [2]
Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Childhood Friends, F/M, Light Angst, alfred and matt are bros, matt speaks french because i am a sap, this one is longer gbless!!!!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-03
Updated: 2018-07-03
Packaged: 2019-06-01 17:27:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,198
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15148181
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/freshmint/pseuds/freshmint
Summary: everything’s gotta fall apart eventually. even childhood friendships.





	our own house

**Author's Note:**

> more posting from the Wattpad Archives™ ! this one is substantially longer. originally a songfic, based on “our own house” by misterwives. 2015 was a weird time apparently. this has been edited for clarity because god knows i couldn’t do that then. still not fantastic but yeah! enjoy the bittersweet.

With a cheer, you tossed down the dripping paintbrush, the now-blue bristles swiping paint over the grass, but you paid it no mind. You climbed down the wobbly rope ladder, and stepping back to gaze at your handiwork, a grin washed over your paint-streaked face. As you looked over at your best friend, Matthew Williams, his expression matched yours. 

After an entire month of your summer spent working on the treehouse, you were finally done. Still smiling, you looked to Matthew, hand held up for a high-five. He returned it, saying nothing but picking up a clean paintbrush, dipping it in the can of black paint, and swiftly ascending the ladder. With one hand on the rope, he swiped the brush over a dry section over the entrance to the treehouse. You craned your neck to see, but he blocked it from your view, smiling and chiding you for being impatient. You only pouted, flopping onto the grass. 

"Alright, done!" 

“I can’t believe we finished it, Matt!”

”Me either, _lapinet!”_

Across the top of the wood, in rather drippy letters, read “The (best) Treehouse.” Underneath, in Matthew's even handwriting, it said "keep out if you're not us" 

You giggled happily and tackled him in a hug, smearing paint across your cheek as you then both gazed up at the finished treehouse. "It's perfect!"

A few heartbeats passed before either of you spoke - Matthew broke the silence. 

"Do you ever wonder what high school's gonna be like?" 

* * *

"Hey!" A cheerful voice called your name, echoing through the hall. You turned to see Alfred, Matthew's twin brother, grinning at you. You returned his smile as he fell into step beside you. 

"Hi, Alfred. How's it going?" 

"Great! So you know about that crazy treehouse you and Mattie built when y’all were kids?" You stopped dead in the middle of the hallway, nearly getting trampled by a group of football players, but Alfred dragged you out of the way. 

"The. . . treehouse? God, I haven't thought about it in years." You let your mind drift back to when the treehouse had been you and Matthew's sanctuary, heading there after school every day. Sometimes Alfred would join you, but it was usually just the two of you. You never went there anymore, now that your were all in your senior of high school. 

"Yeah, so our dad wants to know if it's okay to tear it down? Since we're leaving for college and all." 

The bell rang, but you barely heard it, feeling sick to your stomach. Just like you had left the treehouse visits back in the past, you had grown apart from Matthew as well. 

"Matt knows about it too?" You could barely keep your voice from breaking.

"Yeah, he seemed okay with it." Those words were like a punch in the stomach. "Well I'll catch you later!" 

You only dragged yourself to your next class, his words floated in your mind, and the more you thought about it the worse it was. 

_He seemed okay with it._

You knew he had been sad when you joined the volleyball team and made new friends, but you had always kept Matt by your side. 

Hadn't you? 

Your mind worked more frantically now. Oh, god. I totally ditched him, didn't I? And now the treehouse is going to be torn down. I shouldn't even be sad about this? It's just a treehouse!

But it wasn't that. The treehouse was practically the last memory you had with him. You couldn't bear to lose that. 

* * *

The first day of first grade. You were frantic, worried you wouldn't make friends, until you met the shy, violet-eyed boy. 

"I'm Matthew Williams. I like your headband, it makes you look like a bunny." He had told you when you asked his name, pointing at the wire headband your wore. His voice was soft, barely above a whisper. His eyes seemed to stare through you, as you smiled a little and introduced yourself. 

"Do you want to play on the seesaw with me?" And just like that, you were friends. 

You had no idea why that memory came to you now as you walked home from school, passing by his house, but you smiled at it, tears forming in your eyes. 

"Oh, wow, hey! I haven't talked to you in ages!" 

". . .Matt?" You looked at him in surprise over the top of the fence, tears streaming down your face now. Upon seeing this, he quickly rushed to you, pulling a tissue from his pocket to dab at your damp face. 

"Oh gosh, you don't have to-" He smiled, looking down. 

"Don't worry about it.”

You stood there, frozen as he then met your eyes. Just as haunting as they had been on that day. Staring right through you, a small smile on his lips.

"So. . . I take it Al told you about the treehouse.” You nodded, for fear that if you spoke you would cry once more. "I know you're sorry. But, we've moved on. You know what I mean? For a while I thought I could repair it, but it dissolved right before my eyes." He stepped back, twisting the tissue nervously. "And you didn't even notice." Your hands flew to your mouth, fresh tears springing up. 

"I'm- I. . ." You slipped and stumbled over your words, for once speechless. "I'm sorry."

Matthew smiled softly.

"I am too. Takes two to make a friendship work. I suppose we're too far apart now."

With that, he left as quietly as he had come, slipping away from you just as everything else seemed to be doing.

* * *

A few days after graduation, you were sitting outside on your porch, watching as cars trickled down the road, just thinking, unraveling your thoughts. A blonde head walking up your driveway caused you to break the trance. 

"Matt?" 

He said nothing, heather coloured eyes cast down as he handed you a package wrapped in newspaper. 

"They tore it down today." 

You choked on air, though you knew it was coming. A dull feeling spread through your limbs as you thanked him for the package and he trudged down the gravel-spread path. It had hit him just as hard. 

Eager fingers slit the paper, but stopped short when you saw the contents of the package. It was a piece of wood, the very same one from the entrance of your childhood treehouse. The blue paint had faded but “The (best) Treehouse" was still very legible. Running a finger over the peeling, splintered wood, you smiled. 

As you stood to put it away, a sheet of white paper folded into fourths slipped out of the shreds of newspaper. 

 

_Lapinet,_

 

I'm not really sure what happened to our friendship. 

I wish it could have stayed. I wish I had forgiven you. I wish a lot of things. 

Most of all I, I wish I could have told you how I felt about you. 

I really like you,  _lapinet,_ and I wish I could have realised that sooner. 

I'm sorry. 

 

_Bien affectueusement,_

_Matt_

 

Your fingers tightened around the note and plank, holding them to your chest. Your breathing was heavy and your throat was dry.

"I'm so sorry, Matthew.” 

**Author's Note:**

> i didn’t wanna do the whole Lena thing so i decided to give the reader a cute nickname since french nicknames are adorable.  
> “mon lapinet” - my little rabbit  
> “bien affectueusement” - affectionately yours  
> (listen idk why matt speaks french and al doesn’t we love disparity here)


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